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A fatal accident circumstances and epidemiology (FACE) report on a confined space accident in Ohio was presented. The report was part of the NIOSH FACE project to collect data on electricity and confined space/related accidents involving fatalities. Three volunteer firefighters were killed on August 27, 1985, when a burning silo exploded. Th firefighters were spraying water onto the fire from the top of the silo at the time of the explosion. A fourth firefighter on the ground sustained a broken leg when he was hit by a piece of the concrete roof lifted up by the explosion. Coroners ruled that one victim knocked off the roof by the explosion died due to injuries caused by the fall. The other two victims died due to injuries caused by the explosion. Witnesses stated that the bottom and top doors of the silo were open when the fire department arrived. The explosion was attributed to either a build up of combustible gases due to incomplete combustion or a dust explosion, or both. Recommendations include not pouring water onto silo fires through the top hatches of an oxygen limiting silo and keeping the silo hatches closed except when filling or emptying the silo.